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IDENTITY CRISIS #1
© DC Comics

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Comic Book
Comic Costume
Zeus
Creator
Image Comics

Comicscape - August 3, 2005

Joel Handloff writes, "You were very right to point out how convoluted a web DC is making of this year's crossover. Over the past few years, I've tended to avoid purchasing single issues and have simply waited for TPBs, even on the big crossovers (when they were published in that format). This didn't work out very well with OUR WORLD AT WAR. While the two volume set did, in fact, get you the story, it didn't make it feel epic, or that it took over the DCU (I have no idea if it did, but it certainly should have). More importantly, there wasn't any real sense of the effect this had on Superman (which they make a fairly big deal about, but in the TPB, it really doesn't come through)."

Yeah, if I was sane, I'd just wait for the trades and buy them at a discount. However, I hate feeling left out and reading about a crossover in progress in WIZARD or online. Waiting also means putting aside the titles I normally buy until the event finishes. I really don't like ignoring BATMAN for six months (or more, if I wait for the trade), just because I don't want to spoil COUNTDOWN TO CRISIS ON INFINITE HOUSES OF M. So, like many of us, I bite the bullet and just get the individual issues (or at least the core minis, like THE O.M.A.C. PROJECT and HOUSE OF M). With a few exceptions, I don't bother with the crossover issues unless I already read the series (I will pick up those O.M.A.C. crossover issues though...curse you and your compelling storytelling, Greg Rucka!).

"Anyhow, I was more than a little annoyed when I read up on this year's event and found out that there were half a dozen mini-series and a slew of crossovers. Worse still, at the end, the entire DCU jumps ahead a year (or is it a year and a half?). That would, effectively, put me seriously out of synch with the DCU and would keep me from appreciating anything written after that gap until I was able to get the TPBs (or so I worry). After a couple days of ranting, I sucked-it-up and bought all the singles so far and told my local comic store to save me all the miniseries. That said..."

The DCU will jump ahead one year. There will be a weekly (yes, you read that correctly) maxiseries tentatively titled 52 that will immediately follow INFINITE CRISIS and fill in the gap. Unfortunately, we'll end up reading two different timelines simultaneously the present DCU that occurs a year after INFINITE CRISIS, and the past that occurs immediately after the miniseries. Head hurt yet? DC may prove me wrong, but that seems a bit convoluted. But, guess who'll be there buying 52, anyway? Everybody look in the mirror.

"So far, I'm very impressed. DC has done a lot of work making sure the dominos line up and I can't wait for the whole damn thing to be in front of me so I can read it all cover to cover to cover to.... I'll be curious to see if Marvel can pull of the same thing. DC has been doing a yearly event like this for a long time, some good, some less so, but this is really Marvel's first serious attempt at this and I'm tempted to at least catch up with TPBs of the AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED storyline. I'm not, however, very hopeful. Marvel's events (during the time that I read them) tended to be rather wishy-washy in the big scheme of things. SECRET WARS? Except for a couple of items, all of that vanished in a few months (ok, didn't Venom come out of that? I seriously doubt that was planned). Then my favorite...FALL OF THE MUTANTS...followed immediately by MUTANTS GET BACK UP AGAIN AND FALL RIGHT DOWN...and then AGE OF APOCALYPSE WHICH REALLY IS A MISNOMER BECAUSE NOTHING ACTUALLY ENDS...and the endless Jean Grey saga (some Marvel writer once said something to the effect of 'Only two characters will always stay dead, Bucky and Uncle Ben. And maybe not Bucky.' That's a telling statement). It takes real balls to change things at the very foundation. I hope Marvel has those cajones this time."

Yes, Venom ultimately came out of SECRET WARS, because Spider-Man got the sweet black costume that nearly possessed him, only to possess Eddie Brock instead and...

...and that, my friend is the saga of the alien costume and the creation of an incredibly uninteresting villain. Anyway, readers often criticize Marvel for ineffectual crossovers. I hope HOUSE OF M is supposed to rectifies that trend, if only to avoid rolling our eyes ten years from now about this whole thing. As I said last week, the alternate reality thing leaves a narrative escape hatch if it crashes and burns.

Cliff Hicks writes, "I don't know how fair it is to say that the DC didn't have realistic crime before IDENTITY CRISIS. Don't get me wrong, I dug IDENTITY CRISIS as much as anyone (maybe more I bought/loved all of Brad Meltzer's novels based on the strength of his writing in IC and GREEN ARROW but it certainly wasn't the first time DC ever dealt with violent crime. For example, Judd Winnick tackled hate crime years ago in GREEN LANTERN. That was, what, 2001? Kyle's assistant, who is gay, was beaten so badly he couldn't even speak when Kyle came to visit him in the hospital. But it goes back farther than that. If you want darker crime stories, look no further than the Batman continuity. Look to ARKHAM ASYLUM, Grant Morrison/Dave McKean's masterwork about violent tendencies and the duality of man. Look to THE KILLING JOKE, which, while most people remember the shooting of Barbara Gordon, also included the fact that Joker had stripped her bleeding body naked to take pictures of it and show it to her father."

I wasn't sure if my generalization about DC villains was entirely justifiable, given the examples you cited. However, a lot of readers were outraged over the rape of Sue Dibny and the perceived "darkening" of the DCU in IDENTITY CRISIS. Accurate or not, many people felt that the rape, Mirror Master's drug use, et al, uncharacteristic of DC. While I agree that IDENTITY CRISIS didn't show anything that hadn't happened already, DC's intentions seem pretty obvious to bring that darkness that was once confined to isolated incidents (and particularly in Batman stories) to the forefront.

"If you really want to turn it a little, also remember that DC has Vertigo, which where the truly darker side of DC gets its turn in the sun. Marvel may claim to be darker, but you don't see all that many stories that are on par with things like HELLBLAZER, HUMAN TARGET, 100 BULLETS, FABLES or Y: THE LAST MAN coming out of Marvel. (And if you think Marvel would've ever printed the pure gold insanity that is my favorite comics series - TRANSMETROPOLITAN -- you're out of your gourd.) Also, DC has Wildstorm, which prints things like GLOBAL FREQUENCY (which in the very first issue includes someone shooting themself in the head to save San Francisco)."

First, I'm talking about main DCU continuity, not every single DC imprint. Vertigo, Wildstorm, Paradox Press, and (until recently) Humanoids all offer overtly adult titles that take place outside of main DCU continuity. Even HELLBLAZER and SWAMP THING seem to have been retconned from the DCU. Second, Marvel has its criminally underused Max imprint where you can see intense violence, profanity, boobies, etc. Unfortunately, Marvel never ran with it as DC did with Vertigo. If moving SUPREME POWER from Max to Marvel Knights indicates anything, financial concerns keep Marvel's adult imprint down. And yes, TRANSMETROPOLITAN totally ruled all. I just started a reread of the entire run.

"But also, don't take this as Marvel bashing, because I happen to love a lot of the things Marvel's done, especially under Quesada. I like seeing interesting ideas and new risks being taken, and while I haven't signed up for a lot of the things Marvel's done (I've never really cared much about the Avengers), they've also done some wonderful little experiments and bringing on new writers has definitely shaken things up a bit."

In the late 1990's and early 2000's, it felt like Marvel really broke new ground and took previously unheard of chances. They finally dumped the Comics Code Authority, successfully launched the Ultimate line (despite expectations), started the Max line (which, successful or not, has had several good titles), put out a string of great movies, and focused more on writers than on flashy art. Unfortunately, it feels like Marvel (and much of the industry, truth be told) has started to creep back toward those problems that drove it to bankruptcy years ago. First, they're beginning to flood the market with crossovers and variants there is a 12-part, multi-series Spider-Man crossover coming, and it seems like every other issue of NEW AVENGERS gets a retailer incentive variant. Second, they're overexposing both characters and talent Wolverine and Spider-Man can't realistically be in the Avengers, unless they don't sleep; and, while I like Bendis, I think he's stretched thin.

"Now, let me speak a second about the major point of your column the massive crossover. You know what I miss in the more mainstream comics? The hint of interconnectivity. Many of these stories feel so isolated except during crossovers where everything's thrown together. The first massive crossover I really remember with any clarity was the INFINITY GAUNTLET. While parts of it were great (the actual THANOS QUEST preceding it was some of Marvel's finest work), on the whole there was just too much to it. The whole INFINITE CRISIS thing makes me nervous, because it could easily be stretched too thin. I don't want to see that I have to go read twelve issues of something I don't give a crap about to follow what's going on."

Crossovers and shared universes create this problem a company must maintain a sense of interconnectivity without making every issue must-read. Greg Rucka recently apologized for crossing THE O.M.A.C. PROJECT with a few other DC titles, because it created just such a problem. The titles in the shared universe must acknowledge each other, but the story must be told in such a way that readers can still follow without getting a hundred other titles. I believe Marvel and DC wanted both their crossovers to feel that way, but whether they succeed or not remains to be seen.

"On the other hand, I hope the whole HOUSE OF M thing isn't TOO insular. Heroes are people, too, and they mention things that other people weren't necessarily there for. I'm completely fine with that. When they did it in comics when I was a kid (along with a footnote that said 'See #Whatever of Whoever!'), I didn't mind at all. If I really cared, I'd go get that issue. If I didn't, hell with it. Some things are best left unknown. It was primitive hyperlinks before the web had entered most people's lives. And that's okay."

As I said last week, it seems odd that both NEW AVENGERS and WOLVERINE still occur in pre-HOUSE OF M time. I wish Marvel would get its continuity in line.

"Both megacrossovers seem grounded in good stories, thusfar, and that's essential. While it used to be comic books were driven by artists, over the last fifteen years there's been a shift, and the writers are as important (and in many cases MORE important) than the artists. Don't get me wrong - artists are every bit as important as writers...but I'm much more likely to keep reading a wonderfully written series with crappy art than I am a wonderfully drawn series with a crappy storyline."

I agree. As long as the art's acceptable, it won't keep me from the book. I don't want to read something with deformed stick figures (unless that's the point), but as long as the art's not negatively distracting, I'll forgive a lot.

"It sounded like a lot of people think Wanda's snapping on Marvel's side was a bit sudden, but psychological breaks are often like that. One day you're fine, the next you're painting your walls all black and using a cat hutch as a hat."

Look, that was a bad week, okay? I'd just quit my job and didn't know where I was going with my life and I...oh wait. Yeah, uh, that Wanda! Nutty as squirrel crap! Yessir!

"Because the same could be said of Jean Loring. Part of the importance of a mystery is that the ending be something of a surprise, even if clues were dropped. We didn't really have any sign that Jean Loring was as crazy as she was, so I'm not sure how that differs her from Wanda, really."

Truth be told, it doesn't differ. Good call. I hadn't thought of that.

"My hope is that when the series are done, people will still be talking about them...Because in a world where the extraordinary is everyday, there are still things that should happen that even the extraordinary themselves talk about."

Hopefully, they'll talk about them in a good way and not standing around in a comic shop five years from now going, "HOUSE OF M? Aw, jeez. Who thought that was a good idea?"

"I loved IDENTITY CRISIS for that reason we got to see that the villains have a sort of fraternal society too. The question about who Captain Boomerang's son's mother was... was gossip among the villains. Gossip! That's awesome! We've seen hints of that in other places too, but you know the JLA has a bunch more than we've already seen. I'm sure every man in the JLA has had a stray thought about Wonder Woman at some point. Or Power Girl. Or Zatanna. Or... the list goes on and on."

Power Girl? Did you see that JSA cover? Hello, mommy.

This is one of the reasons I like Green Arrow so much it's got a complicated relationship between Oliver and Dinah. All of the action and heroics is cool, but seeing an honest-to-god relationship is so refreshing. While there are a few that are handled incredibly well (i.e. JMS's run on Spidey thus far), we often don't get the complexities of modern dating/love/marriage in comics, which is sad, considering how much time most people spend thinking about it. (This month's issue of Ultimates had me enthralled, because we got to see ex-spouses sitting and talking for a while. Character development! Human relationships in all their dysfunctional glory!) Some of the best issues in comics have been about superheroes doing... ordinary things."

I always appreciate it when a writer takes the time to show this kind of thing. I love short scenes in Garth Ennis's Max PUNISHER that just show Frank eating at a diner while he ruminates. I know the character-driven, dialogue heavy stories are falling out of fashion, but I really dig them. I love Bendis's DAREDEVIL for this very reason it's about Matt Murdock, the man.

"I know people read comics as a sense of escape fiction, but we should never escape humanity. Heroes are people too. Superman, for all his strength, his heat vision, his cold breath, his x-ray vision, his powers of flight and more, still puts on his pants on pretty much the same way Bruce Wayne does. Or, for that matter, the same way that Alfred does."

The same way Alfred does, but FASTER!

"Something else for you to think about, though, regarding this whole megacrossover thing more often than not, I read comics purely by graphic novel these days. There are some exceptions, but on the whole, I'm more satisfied when I can sit and read an entire story arc in a sitting or two. So while I'm completely addicted to series like 100 BULLETS, Y: THE LAST MAN, FABLES, etc... I only read them by TPB. That said, how the hell can you TPB a crossover that's going to include nearly every comic in the DCU? Better yet, why would you want to?"

You see, Cliff, a lot of comic readers don't have any friends. That means they have a lot of time on their hands. When you have time, you can read phonebook-sized crossover collections and...all right, I'm kidding. Yes, I understand what you mean. DC and Marvel have both said they don't expect readers to buy every issue in the crossover. I'm sorry, I dig Marvel and everything, but I'm not buying CABLE/DEADPOOL #17. It just isn't going to happen. I think that if you already read a title with crossover issues (not like the kind we have), it'll flesh out the story, but ideally, it won't be required to appreciate the larger story (unless you're Greg Rucka; don't worry I love ya, man).

Kevin Hynes writes, "I have to say that I am disappointed so far with HOUSE OF ME. I don't have much money left over from paying rent etc, so I have just been picking up the core titles of HOUSE OF M and INFINITE CRISIS."

Rent!? Who the hell pays rent? Just ask Al Brown he's been doing fine in a refrigerator box underneath the interstate for years now. Seriously! Go visit him if you don't believe me!

"And I have to say that HOUSE OF M reads like an afterthought. From my standpoint (because I haven't picked up any of the Marvel M spinoffs) not much has happened in the past issues. Lets see, issue number 1, the heroes get together and discuss the Scarlet Witch problem. They decide to talk to the Scarlet Witch..."

Am I the only one that thinks that's the stupidest idea ever? They're going to go to the mentally unbalanced woman that killed three of their teammates and ask her what she wants!? Seriously, WTF?

"...and Magneto on Genosha and in turn are pulled into an alternate reality created by her and most likely fueled by Professor Xavier's mind. (Just speculating). And then issue 2 starts and we get to see what the differences are. Mutants are the dominant race, which I happen to like and the heroes are in different roles. Roles that one could say are what they secretly hope for. Anyway, again there isn't much happening here in terms of story, it's all a build-up which I was digging. Wolverine wakes up and he knows it's fake. That revelation made me want the third issue. But then what happens in 3? Wolverine runs around, knowing what we already know etc and then Hawkeye shows up. Wow Quesada, that really did break the internet didn't it?"

Not just in half, but in thirds! Quarters even!

"Issue 4 brings us back to issue 1, Emma Frost is woken up and YET again we have a group of heroes going to confront the Scarlet Witch and Magneto. I respect Bendis and do enjoy his style, but it seems as if he has been stretched too thin and that his stories have become all build-up and no pay off."

I'm glad someone agrees that Bendis needs to cut down his workload. Then again, he's probably raking in the green with that many titles, so I can't say I wouldn't take on a bunch of books in his place.

"The COUNTDOWN books seem much more epic and are hinting at and even showing profound changes that will come in the DC Universe. This crossover has me and the only spin off issue from the core books I purchased was the new WONDER WOMANdidn't need the rest of Sacrifice to understand what was going on. The end of that WONDER WOMAN was even more shocking then the death of the Blue Beetle. And don't let me forget Detective Chimp from DAY OF VENGEANCE. If their team turns into a new series, I couldn't be happier. Hell, even Rag Man is cool again. The same can be said for Cat Man also. And the funny thing is INFINITE CRISIS hasn't even started yet. Now if this is the build-up I can't imagine what the real crossover will be."

The finale is that all of the DCU heroes come over to your house for a brew and the chicks all get nice and loose. I mean Power Girl come on!

"I've been a Marvel fan for most of my life, and save for Batman I prefer Marvel's characters. I just don't think HOUSE OF M is going to be that memorable for the readers after it is done. I've been to a couple comic shops in the Center City Philadelphia era and no one is really jazzed about it. And if you mention the return of Hawkeye they mostly just shrug their shoulders and go, eh whatever."

I agree with you I've always been a Marvel guy (with a strictly hetero passion for Batman), but I like INFINITE CRISIS better right now. Character to character, I'll take Marvel, but I think HOUSE OF M could be better.

"I just believe that Marvel has become too cocky over these past years and have started to cause their fans a disservice by offering a 'it was all a dream' tale, while DC is showing real courage and going through their crossover with everything riding on it. So in conclusion, HOUSE OF M reminds me a little too much of AGE OF APOCALYPSE (alternate realities? what is this 1992? what's next? Rob Liefeld's HOUSE OF CABLE?) and INFINITE CRISIS is gearing up to be as big as CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS (ZERO HOUR it is not)."

HOUSE OF CABLE? If this ever comes out, I'll blame YOU. I mostly ran this last part of your letter to prove that I'm not crazy and that someone else sees some of the inherent problems in the alternate reality scenario. As I said last week, I'm enjoying INFINITE CRISIS and HOUSE OF M, but I think DC definitely took the gloves off, while Marvel is still playing safe. Until next week, keep watching the skies!

DARK HORSE

BETTIE PAGE IN BATHING SUIT PINK T/S LG $24.99
Yeah, Kurt gives my crap for including Diamond's solits for t-shirts, but whatever: I just copy and paste, man. And this - this! Betty Page is hot! I had a party on Saturday night and bought a bunch of white t-shirts and you could make your own t-shirt, right? So I wish I'd thought of making a Betty Page T-Shirt. That woulda been hot. Instead I made a shirt that said "I Heart Richard Marx."

BETTIE PAGE IN BATHING SUIT PINK T/S MED $24.99

BETTIE PAGE IN BATHING SUIT PINK T/S SM $24.99

BETTIE PAGE IN BATHING SUIT PINK T/S XL $24.99
Al: P.S. I realize you're assuming I was kidding. I was not. That's what the t-shirt said. Later that night I stole a bunch of trash from down the street and woke up the next morning mystified. My roommate had to tell me what I'd done. But I still heart Richard Marx.
Kurt: I'd call you gay for including a bunch of pink t-shirts on this manly comic book schedule, but Betty Page was pretty damn hot in her day.

MAN WITH THE SCREAMING BRAIN LOGO BASEBALL CAP $17.99

MUSICAL WAR OF THE WORLDS BASEBALL CAP $17.99
Al: Oh my God! Does the hat play music too?
Kurt: Yes. It sings to you about Scientology.

SERENITY BRADSTREET CVR #2 (OF 3) $2.99

SERENITY CHEN CVR #2 (OF 3) $2.99

SERENITY QUESADA CVR #2 (OF 3) $2.99
There will be no Seinfeld jokes in this week's installment of "New This Week", so please don't ask.

TRIGUN MAXIMUM VOL 6 THE GUNSLINGER TP $9.95

DC COMICS

AQUAMAN #33 $2.50

BALLAD OF HALO JONES TP $19.99
Instead of Seinfeld jokes, we'll play a new game: Name the band that should've written the song that this comic book's title sounds like! This one: Bob Dylan.

BLOOD OF THE DEMON #6 $2.50
Gwar.

DC SPECIAL THE RETURN OF DONNA TROY #3 (OF 4) $2.99

DCS GREATEST IMAGINARY STORIES TP $19.99
Al: As opposed to the rest of their stories, which are totally real. Quick, put your Underoos on!
Kurt: Yeah, put 'em on! Al's coming!

DETECTIVE COMICS #809 $2.99
I thought this arc was only 8 issues, but it's actually 12. I'd say that sucks, but Dave Lapham seems to know what he's doing. I'm game.

FIRESTORM #16 $2.50
Queens of the Stone Age.

GOTHAM CENTRAL #34 $2.50

INTIMATES #10 $2.99
Al: R. Kelly. (What? Someone had to say it.)
Kurt: Do you and R. swap pickup lines or something?

JSA #76 $2.50

JUSTICE #1 (OF 12) $2.99
VNV Nation

JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE VOL 1 TP $19.99

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #12 $2.25

LOONEY TUNES #129 $2.25
They Might Be Giants

MATADOR #4 (OF 6) $2.99

MNEMOVORE #4 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99
Tool

SANDMAN PRESENTS THESSALY WITCH FOR HIRE TP (MR) $12.99

SECRET FILES SERIES 1 INNER CASE ASST PI
Al: So...PI, I finally figured out, means "Free." I'm not sure what's going on here though. Okay, side-contest: who's you're favorite PI dude this week?
Kurt: My favorite PI is Cal McDonald! Oooooh!

SECRET FILES SERIES 1 KILLER CROC AF PI
I vote Killer Croc.

SECRET FILES SERIES 1 MAN BAT AF PI

SECRET FILES SERIES 1 MASTER CASE ASST PI

SECRET FILES SERIES 1 MR FREEZE AF PI

SECRET FILES SERIES 1 PENGUIN AF PI
So yeah, when you go to your comic shop demanding all this free crap, just remember that Al Brown told you about it. Al Brown. A-L B-R-O-W-N.

SON OF VULCAN #3 (OF 6) $2.99

SUPERMAN #220 $2.50

SWAMP THING #18 (MR) $2.99
Zombina and the Skeletones

SWAN VOL 4 $9.99
Bjork. (This is 200 pages of manga about a chick that wants to be a ballerina - so, good price if you're into that sort of thing.)

TESTAROTHO VOL 1 (MR) $9.99
Tenacious D. (This is 168 pages of manga about burning heretics at the stake, so...good price if you're into that sort of thing.)

TOP TEN THE FORTY NINERS HC $24.99
Alan Moore and the origin of the Top Ten.

TRIGGER #8 (MR) $2.99
Ludacris

WILDSIDERZ #1 (OF 5) $3.50
Sounds like a boy band.

WILDSIDERZ #1 LENTICULAR COVER VERSION #1 (OF 5) PI
Did you say "Lenticular"? Is that a verb or a noun? Is it bigger than a breadbox?

Y: THE LAST MAN #36 (MR) $2.99
Bella Morte

IMAGE

ARTXILLA TASTY TREATS 2005 ONE SHOT $6.99
It's just a sketchbook. Ain't that tasty.

COMMON FOE #2 (OF 4) $3.50
Rage Against The Machine.

DARKNESS #22 $2.99
Metallica.

HUNTER KILLER 9.6 CGC GRADED SGN #1 $59.99
If anyone wants to kill me at this point, please do. But you have to take over my job, which is harder than it looks. (Okay, point taken: Man, does it look easy.)

HUNTER KILLER 9.8 CGC GRADED #1 $59.99
Al: But no, seriously, kill me. Kurt, you wanna make a political point about this unbelievably, heartbreakingly inane CGC system, particularly when applied to comic books that are only 5 months old and shouldn't even be that old but Marc Silvestri apparently is incapable of getting a comic book out on time even if it's a crappy book whose main selling point is boobs, and even at that Marc can't draw boobs so they're so fake-looking they make fake boobs look like your mom's boobs?
Kurt: I think you just insulted my mom, but I got lost about halfway through. So...uh...you're dead...I guess.

HUNTER KILLER 9.8 CGC GRADED #1 (O/A) $59.99

HUNTER KILLER DOSSIER ONE SHOT $2.99
What? No graded copy of the dossier? Is there no justice in the universe?

IMAGINARIES #3 (OF 4) $2.95
John Lennon

MONSTER WAR WITCHBLADE VS FRANKENSTEIN #3 (OF 4) $2.99
Al: This can't possibly compete against last week's cheesecake Nirvana, TOMB RAIDER WITCHBLADE MAGDALENA VAMPIRELLA. Why even try? I mean, unless you're into Frankenstein. Not that there's anything wrong with that. S**t!
Kurt: Al, what the hell AREN'T you into?

PVP #0 $0.50

SEASON OF THE WITCH #0 $2.50
Cradle of Filth

STUPID COMICS #3 $2.99
Ooh, those are my favorite! No, this is by a guy named Jim Mahfood, better known (and I mean "better" generously - this guy is so indie he makes MIA look mainstream) for GRRL SCOUTS. They're just comic strips, RED MEAT-style. They're pretty cool. Don't cream your shorts just yet, but they're okay.

MARVEL

AMAZING FANTASY #11 $2.99

ARANA HEART OF THE SPIDER #6 $2.99
Queensryche.

AVENGERS VISION AND SCARLET WITCH TP $15.99
Al: I've Googled this and I have no idea what it is. Which is weird, because...well, Google knows all. (Have you ever tried Googling "Kurt Amacker"? If you haven't, don't, cause the FBI will be at your house in ten minutes and they will find your Hillary Duff bookmarks.) But I can use my psychic powers to predict that this will be a bunch of disjointed stories featuring the major points of V and SW's relationship, and you will be left unsatisfied like Kurt after a $300 dinner with some chick he met on Myspace.
Kurt: Dude, tell your mom to update her profile. She totally doesn't look like that anymore. And tell her next time someone takes her out that "one of everything" isn't on the menu. Goddamn...

DAREDEVIL FATHER DIRECTORS CUT #1 $2.99
As the sky falls, Marvel releases the director's cut of #1 before the actual series is even done. Hey, guess when #4 (of 5) is due out? November. Way to close the barn door after the horse is glue, kids.

DAREDEVIL REDEMPTION #6 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99
Wouldn't greater redemption be a trade paperback of DAREDEVIL: FATHER minus the cost of the first issue I already bought?

FANTASTIC FOUR FOES TP $16.99
Fee fi fo fum!

FANTASTIC FOUR HOUSE OF M #2 (OF 3) $2.99

IRON MAN HOUSE OF M #2 (OF 3) $2.99

MARVEL 1602 NEW WORLD #1 (OF 6) $3.50
Al: I wasn't all that crazy about Neil Gaiman's 1602 - it didn't have any impact, as far as I could tell, on the 616 universe, so I had a hard time caring despite Andy Kubert's brilliant artwork. But I'm an enormous Grek Pak fan, so I'll give this a shot.
Kurt: 1602 had the best buildup to a letdown of an ending ever. I think it might even have HUSH beat in that regard.

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER MAN VOL 1 SINISTER SIX DIGEST $6.99

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #6 $2.50

MARVEL TEAM-UP #11 $2.99

MARVEL VISIONARIES JOHN ROMITA SR HC $29.99

NEW AVENGERS #8 $2.50
Finally, the Sentry comes into play. Also, a guest artist. On the plus side, Sal Buscema writes a backup story. Weird, I know, but...man, Sal Buscema rules all.

NEW AVENGERS ROMITA SR VARIANT #8 $2.50
Is there going to be a variant for every single issue?

NEW AVENGERS VOL 1 BREAKOUT HC $19.99
Wow, we're already past the storyline, past trade time and into hardcover territory? Man. Time flies when you're laughing over that lame Entenmann's scene.

SPIDER-GIRL #89 $2.99

ULTIMATE IRON MAN #3 (OF 5) $2.99
I have friends who thought that ULTIMATE IRON MAN #2 was cool enough to make up for #1, but I disagree. I think this series is going nowhere slow.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #81 $2.50

UNCANNY X-MEN #463 $2.50

X-MEN UNLIMITED #10 $2.99

X-MEN VIGNETTES VOL 2 TP $17.99
Al: Vignettes? You expect me to spend eighteen bucks for vignettes? That's barely even a real word!
Kurt: You're just mad because they were out of the raspberry vignette salad dressing when you took your child bride to Outback last week. All right, that was lame.